Nebraska Extension and UNL’s Office of Emergency Preparedness and Planning are encouraging county Extension offices and Extension units to have plans in place for disasters and emergencies. The goal of an emergency action plan (EAP) is to outline procedures and information that could be used by staff in the event of an emergency. Information includes office location description, shelter-in-place/evacuation procedures, and staff contact information, among other important information.
To account for more plans being submitted and to give them a quality review, this year’s plan submission process will be different. This year, plan submission windows will be based on zones and units:
- February 1 – March 31: Zones 1, 4, 8, and 10
- May 1 – June 30: Zones 5, 7, 9, and 11 and Raising Nebraska
- September 1 – October 31: Zones 2, 3, and 6
About 1-2 weeks prior to each plan submission window, we will reach out to lead educators/unit leaders with information regarding the plan process, the EAP template, and the submission link. Please note that the EAP template and submission form link will not be changing this year.
Over the next few months, we will be developing a webpage with EAP information, and that will be the go-to resource for all offices/units that are developing and submitting EAPs. When this webpage is live, we will notify the organization. We appreciate your understanding as we navigate this process while we transition our shared template and resources from Box.
Remember, EAPs are living documents. While we only ask offices/units to submit them on an annual basis for our organizational records, EAPs should be updated continually as the need arises (i.e. someone retires/resigns, someone new joins the office, change of office location, etc.).
If you have any questions, please let us know. Thanks to all the offices and units that submitted their EAPs in 2020, and we look forward to working with everyone this year!
Ashley Mueller, ashley.mueller@unl.edu
Soni Cochran, scochran2@unl.edu